Only Orders
by EmilykaFairy
Summary: Lon'qu is Lissa's bodyguard, and nothing more. However, he is afraid of women. He can't stop thinking about the girl he let die, so he decided not to be more than a bodyguard to the princess, but she doesn't want it this way. She'll have to understand him first, though, because the way it is, they will keep searching for each other but not find anything. [Complete]
1. Part I

**Disclaimer : I do not own Fire Emblem nor its characters, which are the properties of Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.**

* * *

It was no secret that Lon'qu, the feroxi champion, had to guard the third princess of Ylisse, namely Lissa. He thought it would be easy ; but nothing would be farther from the truth. He imagined the princess to be a prim, proper lady, with a quiet attitude and interest for nothing but futile things, and thought she wouldn't even talk to him, a mere bodyguard. However, the princess of Ylisse was the little girl in a yellow dress from the Arena. She actually participed in battles, as a healer, and didn't act like a princess at all.

She was loud and her face depicted a lot of expressions. And she was really childish.

He had no problems stabbing people and didn't reflect on his master's orders, but this was too much. Even if she was a child, she was still a girl. As long as it was the same gender, it wasn't possible. She kept annoying him at all times, wanting to talk to him or to be closer.  
Really, it annoyed him. He couldn't stop thinking about a way to keep her away, even now as he was swinging his blade to train. His moves were getting angrier than usual, as his sword cut through air with precision. He couldn't concentrate well and his thoughts always returned to princess Lissa.

He saw her bright, poisonous smile. Again and again. Sweet memories of her laughter burned brightly in his head, destroying what little concentration he had until now. Lon'qu sighed but didn't put down his sword ; he had to practice and to become stronger.

If he didn't, then that girl would surely...

"Lon'qu !" Ah, speaking of the devil. Lissa called him from afar, waving happily. The swordman growled, feeling even more annoyed because he would have to deal with her, and put down his sword. He knew he couldn't win against her. She ran to face him, and he was grateful she realized she was standing a little too close to him and stepped back.

"What do you want ?", he asked slowly. He was always nervous when confronting women. But this time, he had to push her away ; he had to protect her, no more, no less. There was no need to do something more than his job.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay ! Usually the others come to me if they're hurt, but you train a lot."  
"There is no need. Real warriors don't need treatment for a scratch", Lon'qu didn't look at her, instead looking at the sharp edge of his blade.

The girl made a face close to disappointment, her eyebrows furrowed, and the curves of her tiny mouth curling downward. Maybe she was even pouting a little. She lowered her head, facing a strait rejection once more : it was not the first time, but it seemed like she was finally getting along with him as she wished to. However, it was not enough to make up give up on him ; at least she wanted them to be friends !

"That won't do, grumpy man ! If you continue like this you will really get hurt one day !" She exclaimed, hands on her hips in a angry manner.

"I don't need...", began the swordsman before being tackled to the ground. While he was recovering from the fall, Lissa, above him, took his sleeve off to look for wounds. Feeling her fingers gently over his arms made him want to scream, a woman getting close to him was horrifying enough. His instincts took over in a few seconds, and soon he pushed abruptly Lissa to the ground, using his full strengh. Panting and still terrified from the contact, he stood up and dusted his clothes while replacing his sword in the steath on his belt. He briefly looked at the princess who was apparently shocked he got away from her so violently. She tried to stand up and lash out at him, but the pain she felt on her hip prevented her from doing so, and she fell repeatedly. She finally stood up by leaning on a wall and she looked at him accusingly.

He felt a sharp pain in his chest at the memory.

 _It was so violent, so unfair._  
 _He could see her head chopped off again and again as he wondered what kind of monster would do such a thing to an innocent creature like her._  
 _He could smell her blood while gulping down the thought that he failed to protect her._

Taking a step back, then two, then three, he ran off and left her alone, trying to make the memory disappear from his mind.

"Fine", Lissa huffed from afar, "if you're going to be so mean, I won't help you !"

He didn't look back nor stopped, but he heard her protesting loud and clear. She was probably angry with him. She had every right to : he couldn't not hurt women. That was why he decided to be away from them ; he wanted not to repeat the same error again. How could he protect someone he hurt ? She didn't need someone like him.

"I know you stay with me because of my brother's orders anyway !"

* * *

 **A/N : I wanted to write about Lissa and Lon'qu. They're really cute ! I don't always ship them ; I prefer Lon'qu/Olivia or Lon'qu/Robin, and maybe Lon'qu/Tharja. But I read some fanfiction, replayed their supports again and again, and I still think those two are cute. And Owain's outfit really looks like Lon'qu's, which make me think more and more about them.**

 **Somewhere in Tharja's supports, Lon'qu mentions that his phobia of women is caused by his incapacity to protect the woman he loved, or at least, a woman very close to him. I wanted to write about that because it wasn't explained in Lissa's support with him.**

 **Anyway ! I hope I grasped Lon'qu's character alright. I know what it is like to be afraid of the opposite sex because, well... I'm afraid of men, but not for the same reason as Lon'qu's. And that's really a pain, though it helped me this time, I felt like I understood Lon'qu's attitude and it seemed so easy to write about Lissa's reactions.**

 **This story will have at least two parts, I don't know if I'll write a third one. I'm sorry it's so short but it seemed like a good place to cut the story.**

 **I hope it's alright !**

 **[Emilyka]**


	2. Part II

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Fire Emblem nor its characters, which are the properties of Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.**

* * *

 _"I know you stay with me because of my brother's orders anyway ! "_

It was already one week ago. Since Lissa had walked away, huffing like a erupting volcano and limping because of the pain slowly building in her hip. If anything, she looked hurt, biting her lip to hold back tears. Lon'qu could only stare in guilt as the petite girl tried to walk around camp. He wanted to help her, to forget his fear of women for once and to ease the pain he was unsure he could, but he would carry her if needed.

But he did none of that, and instead returned to his practice with a more violent fervor than before to chase the thoughts that consumed him from the inside.

A week passed in a flash. Between training and battles, he rarely had time for himself, but he didn't mind. As a warrior who only wanted to be stronger and devoted his entire self to battle, it could be paradise, at least compared to Regna Ferox.

Back then in the frozen land, he hadn't seen the color of battle often : contrary to what is said about Feroxi's love for fighting, anything rarely happened. Plegians sometimes assaulted villages and planned on assassinating nobles, but that was all. He was more often training than fighting on the battlefield. But here with the Sheperds, he felt like he was really preparing himself to battle when swinging his sword on the training grounds. Now that the war against Grangrel finally raged, he could fight to his heart's content. But something was off. He knew perfectly what it was, even if he didn't want to admit it. When he was injured, after the battle, he never saw the blonde princess in the medical tent Libra was always tending to him, as Maribelle was too annoyed by the man's fear of women to heal his injuries when it wasn't an emergency.

Lon'qu knew Lissa purposely avoided him there was no way she could have a such perfect timing, being in the tent when he wasn't in and somewhere else in the camp when his injuries needed to be dealt with. He never searched Lissa on his own as well and was satisfied with looking in the tent if she was there. He resisted the desire to look for her or at least to ask Libra where she was. As a fellow healer, he was bound to know her schedule, at least.

As much as he frustrated him, he was yearning for Lissa's company. He wanted to be beside her as before, to accompany her wherever she went. Alone like this, he often felt himself looking at his side as if she was there, and each time he found nothing but void. He missed her laughter and the carefree behavior he would always scold her for. And what of the assassination plot ? He was constantly worried and on his guard even if _he_ hadn't anything to fear. She was the target, not him.

As always, he shook his head, trying to escape from those thoughts. Because of her, not only was he concerned by her safety, but he often found himseld anxious and he couldn't pinpoint why.

His right arm hurt from the previous battle a skilled cavalier had landed a precise hit on his arm. Lon'qu hadn't been fast enough to evade it. He hadn't any sort of vial on him and their use was forbidden in camp anyway due to abuse. Apparently some used them when it wasn't needed instead of coming to the healing tent. To prevent resources from diminishing too much, the tactician banned their use in camp by anyone who wasn't an healer.

Lon'qu glanced in the direction of the healing tent he was never entering too often and most of the time, it was right after battle, which wasn't the case now. He had bandaged his arm alone but the pain didn't cease in one night like he thought it would have and this injury was more annoying than it had seem. If it continued to hurt that much, Lon'qu wouldn't be able to fight as well as usual.

He hesitated when he walked toward the tent, but entered anyway, and found himself face-to-face with a certain blonde-haired princess. She gasped, not expecting him at all but composed herself fast as she shouted quietly words of excuse to Maribelle, who was in the rear room, before pushing him aside to disappear in the busy camp.

Maribelle came from the rear room where she should have been treating a injured Sheperd when she sighed at the sight of him.

"You will not cry in fear of me, today, I hope ? ", Maribelle half-asked with sarcasm, "Libra is not here at the moment."

"It is fine. I only need someone to look at my arm."

She sighed, obviously annoyed ; it was a pretty normal reaction given how he treated her at first, refusing with force to be healed by her as if she was a sort of malevolent monster. Any woman would have been angry, and her strict personnality only made her more upset. He anticipated her refusal yet the blonde lady sat on a chair and asked to do the same to look at his injury. Curiously, she seemed interested at him ; he knew how to recognize that sly look of nobles which meant 'I am going to ask you something and you better answer favorably'. He didn't like that at all and prefered people to tell him bluntly their thoughts, but he did as asked without complaning or questionning, mostly because he was used to.

After looking at his injury and scolding him for not coming sooner and him thinking that petite women could be surprisingly scary, she told him to stay a little while longer and to ensure that no curious soul heard them, to come to the rear room, which was a kind of warehouse for drugs. To his surprise, no one was actually here.

"What is it about ?", he finally asked.

"It is about Lissa," she replied without looking at him, but when she turned to face him, she wore a scowl, her lips turned upside down, "you seemed close before, and I was glad to see my Lissa so happy, but her attitude changed drastically a few days ago. She changed her schedule completely and as you've seen before, she is avoiding you greatly. She is not as cheerful as she were, and you seem quite shaken up as well. Did something happen between you two ?"

He growled in response he didn't think he was being so obvious ! As he was usually hiding his emotion in favor of fighting and completing the task he was entrusted with, he believe he was at least decent at it.

"Don't forget I am part of nobility, I know well how to read the mood", she continued, "now, talk."

"It was just an argument. Nothing more."

Maribelle hummed, processing the information, a grin plastered on her face as if she knew he was completely lying. However, he did not react to her accusing gaze as she asked, "you fully know it affects you as well, yes ? I do not care the least if it does, but I worry for Lissa."

"Her protection is left to Frederick, the strongest among the Sheperds," he said after a while, trying to not sound too worried as he was concerned for Lissa too but also as a way to reassure himself, "you have nothing to fear". Maribelle wasn't so sure however, and she shook her head and sighed once again, shifting her weight on another leg.

"I am worried she would push herself too much, she has been reckless lately. Maybe she is used to act like this because of your protection, but you aren't with her now, plus Frederick has a lot to do. Even if he gives it his all, which he does, he can't protect everyone at the same time." She searched for a bottle inside a box.

"And what do you expect to do about it ?", he frowned. It wasn't his business, not anymore. He could not try to protect someone he hurt ; an argument was nothing major, but he had reflected on his attitude after that. Lissa constantly trying to get him to open to her, and as he only saw his task, which seemed totally logical to him now, he rejected her. He was wrong – the tactician often wanted to get closer to their comrades, and Lon'qu had to admit it had some usefulness in battle. While he always used to think it was pointless and frivolous, in fact it permitted a good harmony in battle, which meant more deadly techniques and a solid defense.

Lon'qu never saw it fit to learn more about the Sheperds. He pretented to be not interested, but in truth he didn't want to fail anyone once again. No bonds, no mistakes, no pain. He deemed this attitude was for the best. And yet...

* * *

Lissa kept quiet during the dinner, playing with her soup with the back of her spoon, creating waves in the liquid and sometimes making her spoon hit the plate in a bell-like sound. She didn't look especially bored and this attitude made her brother worry. Lissa was always talking about something and more often gossiping, and if she wasn't, then she was preparing a trick to play on someone, most likely her brother who she loved teasing because of the funny reactions he displayed. In general, she enjoyed teasing persons she liked.

"Lissa," called Chrom softly, worrying for his sister who was too quiet to be alright. But there wasn't any response.

"Lissa ?"

The blue-haired prince sighed quietly before nudging gently his sister's arm. She didn't wake up from her haze suddently to laugh like he hoped and instead pushed away her brother's hand, humming to show she knew he was calling.

"Is something wrong, Lissa ? There _is_ something wrong. I can tell."

"It's nothing," she replied playfully, "girl's troubles. You won't understand being a _girl_."

And he sighed once again but of relied this time, seeing Lissa's good old humor. Maybe it's wasn't too serious. Maybe she was just worried about the oncomming battle, she wasn't paired up with Lon'qu anymore and didn't have a designed partner. Plus she had a lot of work as a healer lately. Knowing how much his little sister likes skipping royal duties, she surely wanted a break but couldn't take one because she was concerned for everyone, or something like that. Plus, she was training a lot these days, and he had no idea why. He supposed she was becoming more responsible.

Yep, it was definitely it.

The battle was burning brightly in her head, blood rushing to every fiber of her being, urging her to run faster, to heal more. Frederick protected her from oncoming attacks, for she wasn't fast and agile enough to evade those hits. Maybe she should have trained more like the knight suggested, maybe Frederick's Fanatical Fitness Hour had some good after all. Even if she began to train more, perfecting her healing skills as she asked Miriel for advice – the mage was curious about every single kind of magic and even more about non-magical things and complicated and boring systems and it was almost evidence that she had studied healing magic even if she couldn't use it. Lissa also wanted to be more agile to at least evade hits if she didn't have enough defense and vitality, so she gave all of her candy to Gaius, the master of agility. She didn't like it and hoped it was worth it.

She was going to show that idiot of what she was made of ! She didn't need _that_ much protecting !

She looked across the battlefield more than once to spot Lon'qu before shooking her head, telling herself she shoudn't look for him before she proved herself. Anyway, she only saw blood splashing in every direction when the Sheperds cut enemies necks or heads. Even if she was an healer, she found cutting off human's body parts disgusting. She was sure only Henry liked it, anyway.

She heard a low groan behind her and couldn't be wrong about who it was. She could recognize that voice anywhere and alrealy understood the myrmidon was in a pinch. Maribelle informed her of his injury before she could even ask and that left her worried. When she wasn't at his side, he grew reckless and she didn't like it one bit.

So she did something stupid.

She began to run in Lon'qu's direction, ignoring Frederick's pleas begind her. The knight made his way beside her with his horse which was way faster than Lissa's feets.

"Milady ! Where are you going ?! This is dangerous !"

"Sorry, Fred ! I need to go ! By the way, Miriel needs your help, there are a lot of ennemies near her !"

The knight looked away for a second in the mage's direction, his eyes widening at the realization of the danger upon her. Ready to go to her, he tried to look at the princess already out of his vision. He hoped she would be alright before urging his horse to go faster and readied his lance to strike efficiently.

* * *

The myrmidon was indeed in a pinch. Encircled by various ennemies who he couldn't cut at the same time, he was doomed to get hurt. Cavaliers with strong lances at his left and right, swordsmen and archers right before him, and behind, mages and more cavaliers. He had to avoid the cavaliers, but if he went for the swordsmen, the archers woulld get him and that would leave more room to the mages behind to do damages, even a little. And the cavaliers would finish him off. He was always ready for the worst and picked his target.

He evaded a hit from a cavalier behind him and took the opportunity to kill the mages, then spun around rapidly to attack the swordsmen and the archers. He suffered damages but he could still kill them all. Now only if his arm could be in top form...

He engaged with the cavaliers. He knew he couldn't withstand their hits for much longer and took avantage of the confusion to lead an enemy into a friendly fire range. He was going to win, he knew it.

But when he turned his head, he saw a lance above his head, and a yellow flash in the corner of his eye.

"Lon'qu !"

Blood splattered everywhere.

* * *

 **N/A : This one is longer than the previous chapter, but, really, I feel like nothing really happened in the story. Oh well. At least I liked writing it.**

 **If there's someone reading this work, thank you ! I think there will be a couple of chapters left ! I'll try to upload as soon as possible.**

 **[Emilyka]**


	3. Part III

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Fire Emblem nor its characters, which are the properties of Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.**

* * *

A pool of blood drooled from Lon'qu's chest as another cavalier lifted his lance above the myrmidon, ready to chop off his head. Lon'qu groaned and tried to compose himself despite the pain he could barely block the ennemy's blows. His swings were weak and slow, and each time he moved, he groaned painfully. The bleeding didn't seem to stop and Lissa knew it wouldn't alone, Lon'qu needed medical treatment now. However, their ennemy took his weakened state as an opportunity to took him down, of course they would : there is no kindness in war. But this battle really had to end soon, or else he would lose too much blood. She was anxious about this, as it was new for her. Before, there always was someone to protect her when they were surrounded by ennemies, and even then, she felt afraid of battle and death. She hated bloodshed and the painful cries of the comrades she loved. But now, she was alone, and it was much more scary. She thought she understood war, but she was mistaken. She didn't know anything at all. She felt as ignorant and pathetic as when Chrom scolded her for scouting alone and without permission. How could everyone fight like this ? How could they bear that ?

However, Lon'qu was more important than her petty fears. She decided to change.

"I practiced for this...", she whispered, trying to not tremble too hard both from anger and fear.

Lissa's hand gripped her staff hardly as she began to run behing the cavalier.

"You asked for it !"

The poor man fell to the ground with a dull sound as his horse, surprised by the sharp blow his rider received upside the head, grew panicked and ran off, only to be killed by his allies' archers in the mist of the battle. Lon'qu, dumbstruck by the cavalier's fall, looked at Lissa, who held her staff above her head and grinned proudly at the myrmidon. She helped him stand up as he was kneeling because of the tremendous pain.

"There aren't any ennemies in sight", Lissa beamed, "seems like we won !"

Lon'qu nodded. He still felt awkward around her. He didn't have time to think about that, Lissa took him by the hand to help him undress as she readied her staff to heal him. He groaned when he saw a tiny thread of blood escaping from her forehead.

"You're bleeding."

"Hm ?", she hummed, then she felt her forehead, "ah, yeah. The cavalier scratched me a little. I'll treat that later, don't worry."

Though she was sure that after their argument, he didn't worry for her anymore, he didn't have to protect her anymore from the assassination plot now that Frederick did. But she was kind of proud that she could protect him, even a little. She practiced to get stronger to understand him better as a warrior. She wanted to be closer to him as well, but she only managed to make him angry by clinging to him.

He was quite surprised at her strenght but the fact that she protected him left a bitter aftertaste in his mind. He never wanted someone to protect him after the incident. When Basilio took him in, he dedicated all of his being to battle and didn't work with anyone. He avoided people and talked only when it was necessary. He wasn't proud of her nor happy she saved him from death.

"Sheesh, you're frowning again", she groaned, "you should be happy, I protected you. I'm strong now ! I won't be a burden anymore, right ? Frederick said that when I get strong enough, I could become a war cleric."

"...Didn't you wanted to become a sage ?", he asked. He remembered her talking about that once, but didn't understand her change of heart. She didn't like violence or killing people, nor making effort or training hard.

"So you _did_ listen to me when I was talking about that !", she beamed. "I wanted to become a sage to be like Emm. She was my role model."

Her expression changed from happily surprised to a afflicted nostalgy : she was remembering her deceased sister with a sad smile. Then she furrowed her brows, looking serious all of a sudden, and more mature in the process.

"Even if I can help everyone by healing them, I'm totally useless when it comes to battling. Someone always has to protect me. I wasn't really useful to you. I want to be a war cleric now so I can be a warrior too. But you have to accept healing, you know !"

"That... Asking for help is unneded to a warrior", he mumbled.

"You're saying that again ? You really have an issue with accepting help ! At this point, does it really have do to with your pride ? I bet it doesn't."

She accused him, hands on her hips, and he couldn't escape. He sighed, but didn't want to give in and to tell her everything. It still hurt, even after all this time. The image of Ke'ri covered in her own blood, crying and screaming from the pain even as she voluntarily protected Lon'qu. However, something was pushing him to tell her something. He liked her smile more than he should have and wanted her at his side. He wanted to relieve her doubts and her worries. He wanted to be closer to her. And for that, he needed to say something.

"I... don't want to hurt someone. I don't want to hurt you. You don't need a bodyguard that could hurt you."

"You aren't hurting me ! Arguing is normal for friends. That's true you were awful though."

He hummed pleasantly at her innocence. The real matter was more serious than that, though he was surprinsingly happy she called him her friend. That showed she liked having him around, no matter how difficult it was for him to interact with people. He never doubted her desire to be with him, but he thought she was tired of trying to grow closer to him. However, he felt a pan to his chest as he repeated the word in his head.

 _Friends..._

"Something could happen to you", he said to disctract himself from thoughts about her he found weir and embarassing, "You could... Be hurt. Physically."

"It's okay. I'm not weak anymore. I'm training to grow stronger like you. But if you're reaaally worried, you have to be with me then !", Lissa giggled, winking.

Lon'qu grew embarrassed, hid his slight blush with his hand ; but deep down, he was happy, and wasn't even surprised of it anymore. He tried to forget those earlier and couldn't even tell how long he denied his own feelings he always thought as a burden.

Maybe he'll think about being with her, he thought.

Frederick seemed to choose this moment when the awkwardness was reduces to approach Lissa to scold her for her reckless behavior, with Miriel at his side. He reprimanded her quite fiercely, pinching her ear at some time, but he also seemed pleased he could fight alongside Miriel from somme time ; Lon'qu could see that from the light blush that painted the knight's cheeks when Miriel thanked him from helping her in her own complicated words and technical metaphors the myrmidon couldn't understand. Lissa must have noticed the knight's affection for the mage, as she was grinning and teasing him, which led to some more scolding.

"Letting that aside", Frederick's voice raised drastically, "you were imprudent, Milady. You could have been seriously hurt ! I know that you are proud of your efforts to get stronger, but this is too much. You are not strong enough to fight on your own, and as a member of the royal family, you must be protected. Furthermore, what would Milord say-"

"It's okay."

Both Frederick and Lissa looked at the myrmidon ; it was rare for him to intervene or in general, to speak there was not absolute necessity. He looked at Lissa, and was grateful.

"She saved me. I would've died if not for her. She was quite careful too, she hit that cavalier from behind and stayed out of range. You trained her well."

Frederick's eyee narrowed, trying to examine Lon'qu's behavior. The knight long thought the myrmidon as someone who could be trusted on the battlefield, as a soldier but also as a fellow comrade, as he vowed to obey to Chrom's orders. That was why the knight accepted him as Lissa's bodyguard in the first place, but he never knew the two grew that close : he had never seen Lon'qu stand up for someone.

Frederick was also quite proud a skilled myrmidon like him, who was known for his permanent training, recognized the princess' efforts and strenght. Thought he will likely never say that.

At least, he showed his gratitude by giving up on making Lissa do extra training to punish her for her recklessness.

"Also", grunted Lon'qu, red in the face, "I would like to be her bodyguard once more."

Lissa was suprised. Thought they made up, she thought he didn't want them to be so close because he stayed so silent earlier, when she tried to tell him she would like to fight alonside him. She felt happy, bubbly, and warm ; it was a relief to know Lon'qu liked her, even a little. She never asked him if he thought of her in that manner, she was only imposing herself as his friend.

Earlier... When he mentionned being her bodyguard, she felt a tiny bit of hope, but she didn't count on it. And now, he was asking what she hoped for !

Lon'qu turned to face Lissa, "...if you want me, of course".

Lissa beamed at Frederick, who had no choice. He wasn't very happy to see them so close, but he anticipated this. Once Lissa made her mind, she always got what she wanted, and he found particularly hard or even impossible to refuse her something when Chrom didn't put an absolute restriction. If she wanted to be lazy, which often happened, she didn't work. If she wanted a certain objecf, she got it. People were no different, it seemed.

* * *

During weeks after this events, Lissa's happy personnality returned quickly and even increased ; she seemed more cheerful than ever, her optimism having no limits now, as demonstrated the numerous frogs she fred in her brother's cot and clothes. It was affecting the camp positively - the blonde princess didn't prank every passerby. She was bringinh hapiness to everyone even in the middle of a war, and eventually some rumors blossomed. They actually came from Sully who surprisingly loved gossiping along with other Sheperds. However, Lissa didn't share any information on her feelings. It was rare to see some secretive, some might have thought it impossible and it added fuel to the fire.

"Tell us already", groaned Sully, "Chrom screamed again this morning when he discovered a frog in his boots."

"I told you, there's nothing to tell", giggled Lissa, "being happy is good, right ? It's a lot more fun than to see everyone moping."

"Yeah, yeah, it's nice and all, but I don't really enjoy waking nearly everyday thinking we're getting attacked".

At this point, Vaike stopped polishing his abs with a white cloth like other soldiers would do with their weapon and laughed, " The Vaike never thought Chrom could scream like a little girl. Cut his some slack for the sake of his manly pride. Not that the Teach's manly pride could ever get hurt !"

That earned him a good chop to the head from Sully, who sighed at her childhood friend's antics, "Yeah, right. But still, Lissa. Out with it ! You've always like talking about everything. Come on !"

"Nope, nope ! It could be bad for me !", Lissa laughed, exiting the mess tent with a bunch a vials in her ams.

"And don't escape ! You have no honor ! The Teach never leaves a fight !"

"Which often leads to you getting knocked out on the battlefield, if I remember correctly", snickered Sully to reming him of the reality. Vaike grimaced at this, telling her to forget those mishaps already, while Stahl were silently eating an apple since the start of their chat. He hummed, "Maybe it's too private."

"Huh ?", replied both Sully and Vaike in unison, asking their comrade to elaborate.

"Like, she doesn't want to talk about it because it's _too_ private ?", guessed Stahl, "she doesn't want us to know or to ask questions. Maybe she doesn't want us to interfere ?".

Sully chuckled at her narcissic childhood friend who grinned before a mirror, admiring his best smile, "Well, she surely wouldn't someone like Vaike to mess everything up." She laughed openly, teasing him but Vaike actually didn't care.

Somewhere, Virion was quietly enjoying tea and hadn't said anything for once, which Sully was grateful for. She hated his useless flirty talk but she grew tired of punching him every time, especially when she was actually worn out after training. She just enjoyed chatting with her friends like this, peacefully. However, he had actually heard everything and was thinking actively about it. He smirked soon enough.

"It certainly seems like I have to shine light on the situation", he said calmly, "the delicate concerns of maiden heart's affect our little princess as well."

"Okay, what does that mean, Virion ?", asked Stahl, oblivious, while Sully muttered, "I don't like this...". She drank a little of water to try not to puch him whatever he may say.

"Why, it is simple", chuckled Virion, "Lissa is enamored of a man in this army. Ah, to think she too yielded to love ! How adorable."

Sully choked on her water, surprised by the idea. Lissa in love ? No way. While it was true that Lissa was really interested in men and spent her time gossiping about the Sheperds' love interests, it always seemed frivoulous.

"W-what the hell ?!", Sully coughed and panted at the same time. Virion laughed yet again, and if he wasn't so far from Sully, she would have kicked him under the table.

It could have seemed ridiculous, but seeing Lissa's sudden cheerfulness after a period of gloom, and her refusal of saying anything, it was to be considerated seriously.

At least, that's what the Sheperds in the mess tent that time decided. However, some felt conflicted over this ; while Virion found it cute, Stahl didn't mind at all, Vaike were too occupied by his muscles, but Sully honestly didn't know what to think. To begin, who was the lucky guy ? Did she know him ? She weren't that protective, the princess had her brother to worry about her, but knowing nothing about this was awkward and weird. Or there was the possibility to not be that at all. In that case, whatever happened, Lissa was happy thanks to it, so it was good. But really, it made the red-haired knight curious.

She suddenly saw Lon'qu from the corner of her eyes, he seemed to have finished training. Since his injury, he no longer trained all day, and even joined the other Sheperds more than before. Now, it was rare seeing him with no partner to spar with. He was close to Lissa as well. Sully guessed her personnality affected him in a good way and he became more sociable ; there was Robin's throwing-figs kind of game to thank for that too.

The myrmidon approached the mess tent as Sully called out to him. As quiet as ever, he sat with the others at a resonable distance. He wasn't that comfortable with his comrades yet, and was still nervous around women. The reasons may have changed a little though. With Lissa's help, he became to see himself differently, and his chats with Cherche about Ke'ri fred him of a good part of his demons.

Sully bit into an apple, "You and Lissa are close, right ?". Lon'qu was kind of suprised she talk about the princess and couldn't help but to feel even more nervous.

"Right", he muttered.

"Hey, are you sure you want to bring him into this conversation, Sully ? He doesn't know anything about romance", Vaike said playfully, and Sully groaned at him, "Neither do you, Vaike."

"Romance ? What are you talking about ?", asked Lon'qu, totally lost.

"Well, Lissa has been acting strange lately, and we were talking about it, and Virion brought it up", answered Stahl, who actually didn't think Lissa was in love with someone but stayed anyway. "He told us she might like someone. Do you know about this ?"

"Uh... No."

That made Lon'qu palish in fear ; the kind of fear he felt when he fought with Lissa, the kind of fear he had when he thought he didn't deserve to be with her even as a mere bodyguard. The fear of being rejected. It was different than the fear that destroyed him from the inside when he thought about not being strong enough, but he knew it. He had understood it. He thought he had a chance and somewhere in him, he thought he still had. He hoped he still had.

He wanted to be with her, at her side, differently than a comrade or a friend. That was why he made his embarrasing decision, but Stahl's words were piercing through his heart. If they noticed nothing out of the ordinary about his relationship with Lissa, but noticed something weird with Lissa's behavior in general, then it might not be him.

That thought plagued him all the night, and even more when he removed his coat and felt the little piece of metal inside a pouch in his pocket.

* * *

 **A/N : And here's the third chapter. I have a lot of work lately, so it's been a while since I last updated. I think the next chapter will be the last.**

 **I wanted to move forwad with Lissa's and Lon'qu's relationship. But don't forget they liked each other since the start ! Lissa didn't liked him seriously before, and Lon'qu didn't come to terms with his own feelings, so it's evolving.**

 **[Emilyka]**


	4. Part IV

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Fire Emblem nor its characters, which are the properties of Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.**

* * *

Lissa… liked someone, it seemed. Not 'like', as in 'friends' or 'comrades'. She found someone special to her, someone she cared for deeper than anyone else, someone she could share her whole life with. It was way different than mutual affection the Sheperds shared, as comrades. It was the same word, it was used in the same context, yet its meaning was so different Lon'qu always found it particuarly strange. He never thought about it too much however, because he wasn't interested. Now, it was different. While he didn't want to reflet on a single word's meaning, for it was more like Miriel to do something like that, he was certainly curious about the little princess' lover.

Who was it ? Did he return her feelings ? Did he know him ? Was he strong enough to take good care of her ?

… Why wasn't it him ? He blushed thinking that, and quickly covered his face to not be seen like this, even though he was likely to stay alone near the training grounds, far from others. If they could see him from afar, they certainly couldn't notice the red mess his face became. However, he hoped he didn't look like this every time he thought about Lissa.

He was curious about that mysterious lover, and even about the possibility she could have one. He thought it was best to ask some Sheperds she was really close to. Maybe they had some idea.

The first person who came to his mind was the arrogant healer, Maribelle. Althought their personnality was much different, she and Lissa got along very well. He supposed they were childhood friends because of the way they sometimes recalled the past, laughing it wouldn't be strange as Maribelle's family seemed close to the royal family.

Lon'qu hurried to the healing tent, were he believed would be Maribelle, as it was her shift at the moment. The blonde was indeed tending to a soldier, so Lon'qu waited outside the tent. When the soldier left, he entered. She seemed surprised, and furrowed a brow.

'To what I owe a visit ?', Maribelle asked first. She never had the impression the myrmidon was fond of her. But knowing how he was close to her darling Lissa, who always told her everything, she put the pieces together without real effort.

'Again this bizarre rumor then ? About Lissa ?'

Lon'qu nodded slowly. If he was completely honest, he was always quite nervous near Maribelle. Maybe it had something to do with her elegance and her lady-like grace to him, she seemed to be the quintessence of nobility. Moreover, she did know how to play her cards to make thing go the way she wanted. She was too skilled at manipulating people, and that was quite scary indeed. Unlike men who would declare loudly their intentions or used threats to impress, women if the court were often more subtle as only a few if them worked directly in politics. Most of the time, the head of their family was a man, and the women were married off to build an alliance with some other houses. In the military however, there were plenty of women who had responsabilities as there were no gender discrimination in the army. Lon'qu didn't even want to think about Maribelle's career in politics : that woman was too scary, really. He didn't like dealing with her at all.

'I felt like I should at least ask about it', he whispered too nervously. He felt he had to justify his actions.

'Ask her then', Maribelle said calmly, 'she is the subject of this rumor. I wonder as well what kind of gentleman could win Lissa's heart. She likes looking at well-built men, it is true, but as childish as she is, she could never seriously consider marrying someone. I hope at least that he is acceptable.'

He obtained the piece if information he looked for, but somehow Lon'qu didn't want to leave the medical tent. She would notice him running away, and he didn't want to take the rist. Hopefully someone would enter the tent and cause the lady to direct her attention toward someone else.

Indeed, Libra did. The monk entered the room with an injured Vaike. He was painfully clutching his stomach, but Lon'qu didn't see any blood. Vaike groaned, stumbled over his own feet while he followed Libra. He did seem in a bad shape.

'Maribelle, we may have a case of poisoning', Libra began seriously. He hurried past Lon'qu and made Vaike lay down on a cot. Said man resisted, saying 'the Teach can endure that weak thing', or something along those lines. Maribelle follwowed the war monk to analyse the symptoms and with Miriel's help, coming with an antidote if there wasn't one in stock.

Lon'qu took the opportunity to leave. He honestly wanted to be alone with his thoughts at this moment. He didn't want to confront anyone else about the rumor, it was really too embarrassing.

He decided to take Lissa off his mind and to walk a little around the woods that circled the camp. He thought nature would calm him, and maybe he could go hunting with some of the Sheperds. Frederick or Gaius seemed good at hunting. He could speak to them about it someday, surely after exploring the woods in depths. He would be careful to avoid hunting bears, as Lissa couldn't stand the animal's meat.

…And he was thinking about Lissa again. He could gave thought about Frederick, who acted strangely every time someone talked about strong-flavored meats, especially bear. But no, he was thinking about her again. Even if he came here to escape from those thoughts. He always wondered if he was good enough for her since he realised his feelings for the princess.

He knew he was only her bodyguard, and at most, her friend. What was he thinking, buying that ring ? He was courageous enough to enter a jewelry store and to look for a ring that was good enough for her. He took the time to think about what she could like and what would look good on her, as if he took for granted that she would return his feelings. Moreover, the tiny, thin silver ring he bought was so simple it had some pretty patterns he remembered Lissa liked but that was all. She was a princess ! She probably could have the fanciest ring that existed if she wanted, crafted by a master. He was ridiculous.

A sudden sound made him stop, and the myrmidon hid behind some giant tree. He crouched to make sure no one would see him. And sure enough, he heard voices that didn't belong to the Sheperds. Husky and low voices, talking quickly but he couldn't hear well what they were saying. However, he was sure they didn't mean well, as they weren't villagers. They probably were bandits. He couls take them out now, but that would be useless if there were many of them. He had to come back to camp and inform the Sheperds of their presence.

He made sure he backed down slowly to keep his presence hidden. However, the ground was covered with leaves and branches. He didn't know if the bandits had truly not noticed him. Anyway, he had to tell someone back at camp. He ran quickly throught the woods and got back on a path which lead to camp. He could see the tents.

'Oh, Lon'qu !'

He heard a girly, energetic voice and knew instantly who it belonged to. Lissa ran slowly to him, her dress bouncing with every step she took. She had her staff in hand as well as a pouch with some vials in it, as if she was just returning from the healing tent.

'What are you doing here ?', asked Lon'qu, maybe a bit coldly. He didn't have time for this.

'I was thinking about going in the woods to search for herbs. Cherche saw you going there, so I thought I could join !', she bounced happily.

Lon'qu was sure of it right now – the trees' leaves were moving too much. The bandits were on their way to the Sheperds' camp. Somehow, it was like they knew where it was they were surely familiar with the area, or they were following the army, and thus, they knew where the camp was set.

Lissa played at the ground with her feet, kicking some rocks and feeling the unnatural bumps of the recently-made path. Frederick cleared it himself, in fact, stating it was absoluteky necessary in order to prevent the royal family from falling, and maybe – oh, how awful ! Maybe they would scratch their knee.

'That path is kinda bumpy here,' she suddenly said, 'I was almost falling before.'

She seemed hesitant, and all fidgety. Her face was red as she looked at Lon'qu, who wasn't looking at her at all. He was looking anywhere but at her, as if he was searching for something. She had to catch his attention. She had to make some progress, but the man was as dense as a rock. Being bold was the solution, she was sure of it.

'Should we… hold hands ?'

By the time she finished her sentence, she felt a strong gust of wind in her face. She thought it was weird, and when she touched her cheek, she felt blood driping from her skin. That 'gust if wind' had injured her. She saw a small dagger on the ground, and put the pieces together. Lissa clenched her staff in alert and moved behind Lon'qu, somehow trying to hide.

She didn't know who that weapon belonged to. She didn't see or hear anyone, as if it was a ghost who did this.

'I-I'll send the signal flare !', she exclaimed suddenly. It was the right thing to do, even against invisible ennemies. Great numbers are better. Robin often said so.

Lon'qu moved his body to shield her, should one of the bandits try again. Or maybe calling them bandits was a mistake : they obviously knew where the camp was, and targeted Lissa specifically. They were likely assassins. But whoever they were, Lon'qu was sure to cut them down if they tried to hurt Lissa.

He saw a shadow running toward him and readied his blade before his body to block the attack. Twirling his sword in his hands with deadly accuracy, he targeted the ennemy's feet they were too quick and agile for his liking. Before he knew it, another joined the battle he disposed of his arm swiftly, while hurting the other's head.

'No ! Let go !', Lissa screamed from behind. She was struggling against the assassin who caught her by the neck with an arm.

It didn't take much time for Lon'qu to react as soon as he heard her plead, the myrmidon plunged his blade in his stomach. The assassin's grip weakened, leaving Lissa almost free. She knocked out the man with her staff with a sharp blow behind his head. She heard a groan of pain near her and realised Lon'qu had been injured while saving her.

In a matter of seconds, all the assassine have been disposed of. Lon'qu had a hard time breathing as blood pooled under his clothes, but he didn't care about that and proceeded to tie two of his fomer opponents. He knew they were only knocked out they had also a great number of large injuries but he didn't want to take any risks.

When he heard Frederick's loud steps due to his armor, he knew they were here because of the flare. Robin ran behind him and Gaius accompanied them.

'Milady ! Are you injured ?', asked Frederick, eyes full of worry. He had already began to check every feature of her face to see if she was alright, and panicked when he saw her grazed cheek. He asked for rare ointments and wanted the princess to go to the healer's tent to get herself checked.

'Are they still alive ?', inquired the tactician when he saw two assassins tied up.

'Yes. No one escaped, one dead and two alive.'

'Good. We may be able to get some information out of them. Gaius, will you see if they have money or weapons we could use on them ? Or a contract for example. It might give us clues if they truly are part of the assassination plot, there might be more of them.'

'Sure thing ! I doubt they have the contract on them thought. I hope they have candy !', Gaius said in a sing-song voice.

Gaius began to search their clothes and bags while Robin issued an order to form a search party in order to find other assassins who never revealed themselves throught the battle.

'Milady, please, you must go to the healing tent, to get yourself checked. You already have that horrible injury on your cheek', pleaded desesperately Frederick.

'For the tenth time, no ! There are other priorities right now. Lon'qu is way more injured than me !', countered Lissa while looking at the myrmidon. 'Look, there's so much blood on his clothes.'

She walked closer to Lon'qu and touched his clothes where there were red stains, 'Under his right arm, then near his hip, and one more on his back, see ?'

She didn't notice the poor man's face turn bright red as she examined him. He didn't protest, however. He noticed it too it was really embarassing, but Lissa's touch wasn't unpleasant at all…

* * *

Lon'qu was taking care of his blade again he had to clean it endlessly, then sharpen it to prevent it from being broken. It never failed to calm him, and now, he needed to be as calm as possible.

He finally made his mind : he wanted no one but Lissa at his side, he even _needed_ her. Not as a friend, nor as a comrade, no, he wanted her to be his lover. He wanted to grow closer to her until it became not possible anymore. He had that weird, bubbly feeling he couldn't quite decipher, the one that pushed him into buying a ring.

She had to know. And then, maybe, maybe she felt the same. Just maybe.

He would have thought such feelings were ridiculous and frivoulous before. Now there were the most important thing to him.

'Oh, you're here, Lon'qu', he heard Robin say. The tactician got closer, 'I have news about the bandits from this afternoon. There were assassins, as we suspected. But there were only three of them. It seemed like they were paid by the Grimleal. Lissa should be safe now.'

'Good.'

'She's coming, by the way. She wanted to talk to you. I'll call you to let you know your next battle position.'

The tactician left, muttering a small greeting to the princess as she came closer. She didn't sit down, so Lon'qu stood up and let his blade down. It was already clean.

'Hey, Lon'qu ! I didn't have a good conversation with you because of the assassination deal. I'm glad that's over thought !'

'Yes. You won't be targeted anymore.'

'But… That means you won't be my bodyguard anymore, I guess.'

She seemed unhappy with this, even thought she said she was glad it was over just before. She was fidgety as well.

'That's good too,' said Lon'qu after a pause.

'Hey ! What does that mean ?', asked Lissa with her frown on her face. She had quite an angry expression and didn't look far from exploding, 'did you hate it so much ?!'

Of course she was confused after their first argument, Lon'qu had acted like he didn't think of her as a burden, like he didn't mind protecting her, and like he considered her as a dear comrade. He fought alongside her, and spent most of his time with her. It was like saying, 'I'm sorry, but protecting you was a hassle. Now that the assassins are dead, I can return to my peaceful way of slicing enemies alone'.

'I… don't want to be only a bodyguard', he muttered slowly, 'I like… being with you.'

'Huh ?'

And now she was even more confused.

'I want… to always be with you like this… But not as a bodyguard.'

He searched in his pocket for the red pouch. It seemed delicate and soft, never Lissa could have imagined the myrmidon having such an object. He opened it slowly, and even looked briefly at Lissa before continuing. She was atoned by his words and mesmerized by his movements. She was clearly surprised and curious at the same time.

'All this time, I… didn't stay with you only because of orders. I… wanted to be with you. And I want to be with you in the future.'

He showed her the ring. It was a thin, simple ring, with nice engraving, all made in silver. Lissa blushed, not trusting what she was seeing. She smiled from ear to ear, and she was so happy tears threatened to come out.

'Oh, Lon'qu… Of course I want to be with you too ! I've always wanted it ! We'll be together from now on !'

She didn't wait for his reaction before embracing him with all her might. She circled her arms around his wais and let her head rest on his chest before sighing happily. And of course, the ring was already on her finger. She was so happy she couldn't stop giggling, and Lon'qu showed her a small smile as he returned the hug. He wasn't uncomfortable at all, rather, Lissa's touch made him full of contempt.

He could sray like this for hours, and he'll certainly have to for his whole life.

* * *

Behing a wall of trees, Virion chuckled, 'See, told you. I win this time.' Sully groaned at his arrogance once again before punching his face playfully as she realised she lost her bet.

* * *

 **A/N : And this story is finished ! This chapter was so hard to write. I've always have a difficult time with writing romance. Maybe that's because I've never experienced it ?**

 **Anyway. I hope this story was good !**

 **[Emilyka]**


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